Gender

&
Caste
 CONTENT
• What is caste ?
• Caste System.
• Inequality in Caste system.
• Reservation System.
• What is Gender?
• Inequality in Gender.
• Factor responsible for inequality in gender.
• Types of Gender inequalities.
• Conclusion.
 What is a “caste”?

"Caste" is the term used to describe the complex system

of social divisions that pervades life in India. Caste is an
ancient hereditary system that developed alongside and
became intertwined with Hinduism.
A caste system is a form of social stratification in which
castes are hierarchically organized and separated from
each other by rules of ritual purity.
Since the great majority of Indians are Hindu, the caste
system has played an enormous role in the history of
India, and it continues to exert tremendous influence on
modern Indian culture and politics.
 Caste System

The most widely accepted theory is that

the four basic divisions of the Hindu
caste system—the varna—developed
in the period 1500-1000 B.C. As a
result of the Aryan conquest of India.
The Hindu Caste System Consits of
• Brahmins
• Kshatriya
• Vaisya
• Sudra
 Where does this system come
from?
The most widely accepted theory is that
the four basic divisions of the Hindu caste
system—the varna developed in the
period 1500-1000 B.C. As a result of the
Aryan conquest of India.

The metaphor of the human body was

used to describe Indian society.
The brahmin, or priests, caste
represents society's head
The kshatriya,or warrior, caste are its
arms.
The vaishya caste—traders and
landowners—are the legs
The sudra caste—the servants of the
other three—are the feet.
 Inequality in caste system
Untouchables
 Inequality is at the core of the caste system.
 Those who fall outside the caste system are considered “lesser human
beings” “impure” and thus “polluting” to other caste groups.
 They are known to be “untouchable” and subjected to so-called
“untouchability practices” in both public and private spheres.

“Untouchables” are often forcibly assigned the most dirty,

menial and hazardous jobs, such as cleaning waste.
For that reason the other caste people don’t want to touch
them ,even they were not allowed in temples also.

All schedule caste and schedule tribes are comes under

untouchables
 The Reservation System

In 1950, the writers of independent India's Constitution

adopted a policy of reserving jobs in the government and
seats in state-funded educational institutes for the "scheduled
castes and tribes," as the people marginalized by the caste
system were then known.
India sets aside 22.5% of its government jobs for the lowest
castes, and an additional 27% for what are called the
other"backward" castes.
Medical students at a top university
protesting the new proposal

Currently, out of the 36,000 undergraduate seats at Delhi University,

nearly 8,000 are reserved for lowercaste students. Today an estimated
36 percent of the population falls under the Other Backward Classes
(OBCs) category, the group receiving the new reservations.
DO YOU THINK RESERVATION
SYSTEM SHOULD BE BASED
ON CASTE SYSTEM ??
The system have helped our country, but now this system has
become a burden which is keeping the caste system alive and
poor people of general quota are suffering badly due to this
system.

So Reservation System should be based on the Economic

status not on caste ,creed,race or religion.
 What Is Gender
What Is Gender?
• The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to
• Gender describes the role,rights and
social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).
responsibilities that society consider s
• Gender describes thefor
appropriate ,rightsand
rolemen andwomen
responsibilities
.
• It refers to social ,economic and cultural
attributes and opportunities associates with
being a male or female.
• Gender roles ,responsibilities inequalities and
differences are not the same in various
societies .
 Gender Inequality

• Gender inequality refers to disparity between individuals due

to gender. Gender is constructed both socially through social
interactions as well as biologically through chromosomes,
brain structure, and hormonal differences.

• Gender inequality has been prevalent in all societies for

centuries and continues to exist even today .

• One of the most evil forms of discrimination faced

by a girl after marriage is the practice of dowry .
Some of of
Some thethe
factors responsible
factors forfor
responsible
genderinequality
gender inequality
• Illiteracy : Itinerancy is one of the factors responsible for gender
inequality. According to 2001 census of India., the literacy level
in India is 65.38% in which the male literacy level is 75.85% and
female literacy level is only 54.16%.
• Child Marriage : Children specially the girls are married at a very
young age. This proves fatal for their overall development and
have a negative impact on their health, too.
• Social evils : Social evils like dowry system, sati system, are also
responsible for the low status of women.
• Discrimination against the girl child : The girl child is not treated
properly in the family. People still prefer the birth of a boy rather
than a girl. The girl child is basically trained for household work
only. Even today, female infanticide is a common social evil.
Types Of Gender Inequalities
There are many kinds of gender inequality
or gender disparity which are as
follows:
• Inequality in Family
• Natality inequality
• Professional or Employment
inequality
• Ownership inequality
• Household inequality
• Special opportunity inequality
 Steps taken by Government

• Equal Rights
• Women education
• Support for Training and Employment Programme
• Rashtriya Mahila kosh
• Protection from Domestic Violence Bill, 2002
• Participation in local bodies
 Equal Rights

Before independence, women were not given

any political rights but at present all women
who are of the age of 18 years or above have
been given the right to vote like those of
men. The Government of India has passed
the Hindu Code Bill and Kamla Act to give
equal share to the women in the property of
their parents.
 Women education :

• Illiteracy among the women is the basic cause

of gender inequality. So the Government of
India is emphasizing on women education. For
this, many new schools and colleges have
been opened exclusively for women. To
promote education among women two most
important schemes i.e. Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan” and “Mhila Samkhya” have been
implemented.
 Support for Training and Employment
Programme (STEP)
• Under the programme of Suport for Training
and Employment government is providing
training especially to woment in new
technologies in agriculture, dairying,
horticulture, fisheries, handicrafts etc.
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (Rmk)

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh Was Established To

Sanction Credit To Women. Since Its
Inception In 1993, The Rmk Has Sanctioned
Credit Worth Rs. 113.50 Crore.
 Protection from Domestic Violence
Bill, 2002 :
• The incidents of domestic violence are higher
among the low Socio- Economic Classes
(SECs). There are various instances of an
inebriated husband beating up the wife often
leading to severe injuries. Domestic violence is
also seen in the form of physical abuse. The
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence
Act, 2005 came into force on
October, 26, 2006.
Participation in local bodies :
By the 73rd and 74 th. Constitutional
Amendments, one-third of seats have been
reserved for women in local bodies. There is
also a proposal to provide one-third sealts
reservation for women in the House of People
and state Legislative Assemblies has been
passed by the Parliament. This is indeed a
great step towards the upliftment of women
in India.
 conclusion
• In this study of gender inequality and declining sex ratio in
India it was found that, India's social structure, social norms,
caste system, tradition etc. have made women vulnerable for
centuries.
• They have been subjected to discrimination, oppression and
deprivation which leads to considerable violence against
women rape, molestation, harassment, dowry death, bride
burning etc.
• However the violence against the unborn female is the worst
form of discrimination, which women are subjected to.